The Unidentified Redhead

"Grace? Come on, look at me," he chided softly, his fingers slipping under my chin and lifting my face up.

The tears that had been building all day finally broke and I clutched him to me fiercely.

"Dammit, George, I'm going to miss you so much!" I cried, pulling him to me as tightly as I dared.

"I know, Gracie, me too," he choked back, not crying, but sounding like he could.

I breathed in his sweet scent, S'mores and Hamilton, and I began to kiss every part of his warm skin that was exposed. His neck, his ears, his temples, his forehead, the little part of his chest that was exposed by his open collar, his cheeks, his nose, his eyelids and finally his mouth, that was eager for my own. His hands swept across my back and my hips, his beautiful fingers spa

I held on as tightly as I could, trying to express with sheer force how much I was going to miss him and how much my heart was now breaking to leave him.

"Grace? I just want you to know, well, how glad I am that I met you. I can't imagine my life without your crazy, sexy, beautiful ass in it now," he whispered in my ear, bringing a fresh wave of tears and smiles at the same time from me.

"God, you're amazing. I'm so lucky," I whispered back, clutching at him still tighter. He was now kissing my neck with a sense of urgency, burying his face in my hair and breathing deeply.

His lips found mine again and we kissed until we were both breathless, his cheeks wet now from my tears, and then he hugged me tightly again.

"I should go," I whispered into his neck, my hands buried in his hair.

"Yes, you should," he whispered back, begi

I backed away, swinging my bag up over my shoulder and taking my boarding pass from his hip pocket.

"Call me when you land?" he asked, his eyes sad, but hopeful.

"Promise," I answered, scratching his head one last time. He closed his eyes like a puppy, leaning into it. I was close enough, still, that I could feel the warmth of him through my shirt.

"I love you, sweet girl." He smiled, opening his eyes and leaning down for one more kiss.

"I love you too, Jack." I smiled back as his lips left mine.

I walked away, getting in line. I gave the TSA officer my ID and boarding pass and then fell in behind everyone else. I couldn't look behind me.

"Hey, Crazy!" I heard, and I turned around smiling along with the other thirty people in line.

"Yes, Sweet Nuts?" I yelled back, to the general amusement of all around me.

"Knock their fucking socks off!" he yelled.

I laughed and then lifted my hand in a goodbye. With one more sexy half grin, he walked away, disappearing into the crowd. I was still smiling when I turned back to the line. The woman in front of me smiled.

"Boyfriend?" she asked.

"Boyfriend…hmm…yes. That was my boyfriend," I answered, rolling the word around on my tongue.

Sex God, Wonder Tongue, Mr. Multiple…but boyfriend sounds good, too.

"He's cute. And that accent! Jeez, it's hot, if you don't mind my saying." She laughed.

"I don't mind…and you have no idea how hot it is." I smiled again, thinking of my boyfriend. I wiped the tears away and headed for my gate.

***

Once I was on the plane and settled into my seat, the tears came back. I sat quietly sniffling, watching everyone else file on towards the back of the plane. The flight attendant had already offered me a cocktail, but I wasn't quite ready for that yet.

One of the reasons I felt so sad was that I didn't know when I would see him again. I could be in New York indefinitely—three months, a year. It was all dependent upon how well the show did and the kind of backing it received. I knew Jack would be out to visit, and I knew that, at some point, I'd be able to get back out to L.A., but the idea of not knowing when, that's what was making it so difficult for me. Not to mention that I hadn't slept alone in weeks and I knew that tonight, when the lights went out and I didn't have the Brit scrambling under the covers after me, searching out my boobies with his hot little hands, I'd miss him something fierce.

I thought of his sweet face, looking as lost as I had ever seen him as I walked away from him today. I saw the same sadness in his eyes that was in mine, and even though I realized that men and women felt things very differently, I knew he would miss me. I thought of his smile and how happy I made him when I did something as simple as scratching his head and my insides actually ached.

What would he do if he was here now and I was crying? I smiled immediately, thinking of how quickly he would have me pressed tightly to him, making me laugh through my tears, or simply letting me cry it out. I would do the same for him. All I wanted to do was take care of him and have him take care of me. We needed each other equally. I knew that now.

God, I realized that I should have gone shopping for him before I left. He would eat nothing but freaking fast food for the next three months if no one got involved.

But that was enough sad sackery. I needed a distraction.

I pulled out a magazine and I laughed ruefully when I saw that the Brit was featured in an article about faces to watch. Yeah, no kidding.

***

Somewhere over Utah…

I put the magazine down after rereading the pages with my Brit several hundred times. The flight attendant nodded towards the article I was clutching to my chest as she handed me my Bloody Mary.

"Did you read the article about Jack Hamilton? I could get arrested for the thoughts I have about that kid." She gri

I blushed, and gri

"God, yes. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to his new film," she confided, leaning on the seat and making the guy next to me roll his eyes. He'd already attempted to engage me in conversation, which I had quickly thwarted. Now I was ready to talk, but about a heartthrob? I'm sure he thought I was nuts.

Mmm, someone I loved called me Nuts Girl.

"Yeah, it looks really good. I love me some Super Sexy Scientist Guy."

"You must be talking about Jack Hamilton," I heard a voice say from behind me and the woman in 4D had popped her head over my seat to participate.

"Ha! Everyone I know adores that kid," the flight attendant squealed.

"Oh, my goodness," 4D started, "did you see his last movie? I almost died when he was in that towel…gah!"

"Yeah, he's pretty to look at," the flight attendant sighed, and all three of us began to giggle like school girls.

"He really is…" I added, smiling to myself as the other women continued to fawn over the man who had hit his head on my toilet bowl only hours before.

***

When the plane finally landed, I was exhausted. It had been an emotional day, I'd gotten no sleep the night before and plane rides were always tiring, especially when you take advantage and imbibe the free Bloody Marys.

I grabbed my bags off the carousel and made my way towards the line of cabs into the city. When it was my turn, I gave the driver the address of the W hotel, then checked my messages and smiled as I listened to Holly instructing me to call her as soon as I reached my hotel. I couldn't help but call Jack, and was a little saddened by the fact that I just got his voicemail.

"Hey, love, I'm in a cab heading into the city now. Wanted to call and let you know I made it here safe and sound. And I even met a few fans of yours on the plane! I told her I fucked you repeatedly and often. They seemed oddly shocked by that. Kidding. Well, call me when you get this, I don't care how late. I want to talk to you before I go to sleep. I love you, and would you believe I miss you already, George? OK, bye."